Obama’s Birth Control Controversy: The Big Picture

February 20, 2012

In the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election debacle, in which George W. Bush was declared winner after a month of liberal efforts to overturn his razor-thin victory in Florida, the Democrat Party took an aggressive turn to the left. Many explanations of their strange behavior centered on the notion that they were responding in blind rage over their inability to steal the election. But what at first seemed to be little more than a hysterical tantrum eventually emerged as a well-crafted and effective political strategy.

Simply put, Democrats abandoned any former pretense of moving to the right, since that transparent ruse had ultimately proven futile. Instead, they promoted a brazen leftward shift in their agenda, accompanied by glaring partisan attacks against the GOP. The anticipated response from the Republicans was increased efforts to “find common ground” and seek conciliation. In essence, the Democrats moved twice as far from the center as they had previously been, knowing full well that the typical “moderate” Republican reaction would be to try to “meet them half-way.”

By resorting to this simple, yet diabolical plan, Democrat political operatives were virtually assured a “win/win.” Initially, they could expect to see their agenda implemented in its entirety despite having lost control of the White House along with both houses of Congress. But in the long run they also stood to politically benefit from the predictable disillusionment of conservatives who grew increasingly frustrated at the leftward direction their own party was taking.

Not only were such cornerstones of the liberal agenda as “Campaign Finance Reform” and Medicare Part D embraced by President Bush and the Republican Congress, deficit spending exploded and the nanny state grew to monstrous proportions. Admittedly, the September 11 terrorist attacks delayed any fallout at the ballot box until the elections of 2006 and 2008. Nevertheless, over time the plan proved to be a stunning success on both counts.

Despite the relentless efforts of the liberal propaganda machine to recast the ’06 and ‘08 elections as the American people’s reaction to the unending War in Iraq, in actuality they represented a nationwide backlash against Republican “moderation.” The people of the Heartland had simply grown weary of a Republican Party that could only muster the nerve to present itself as a watered-down version of the Democrats.

In early 2009 however, grassroots conservatism reasserted itself on a grand scale in the wake of Barack Obama’s inauguration, and particularly in response to his ominous effort to destroy American freedom and capitalism though the implementation of Obamacare. Starting in the spring of that year, and through the 2010 elections, the “Tea Party” movement had succeeded in sharply defining the contrasts that exist between the two political camps. Consequently, when Americans went to the polls in the mid-term elections, they were given a clear choice between a liberal and conservative course for the nation. Presented with such an option, they sternly rebuffed the radical leftist triumvirate of Obama, Reid and Pelosi.

In a desperate effort to regain their former dominance, Democrats have resurrected their despicable but very successful former strategy, in hopes of thoroughly blurring the lines between the parties before November. On virtually every major issue, from raising the Debt Ceiling to implementing the initial phases of Obamacare to the legitimization of the counterculture, they have arrogantly drawn lines in the sand, only to be rewarded by continual Republican surrenders.

With the 2012 presidential election cycle in full swing, and the nation’s fiscal and economic condition inarguably worsening, Democrat strategists fully understand that an honest assessment of their track record would prove disastrous. So it is no coincidence that in just the past few weeks, Obama has put the issues of abortion and birth control front and center on the political stage, at the very moment that the GOP establishment is executing the latest effort to creatively run from anything even remotely related to morality or traditional values. This is indeed a major gamble on the part of the Democrats, and it can only work if the GOP unwittingly falls into line. Unfortunately, past history is not a very encouraging indicator of how things might ensue.

This year, the entire battle-plan of the Republican elite centers on their jaundiced concept of “electability,” and misbegotten efforts at “appealing to the independents,” which they assure us can only be accomplished by the abandonment of true conservatism. In the most profound exercise in futility, they would once again see a candidate in the likeness of Bob Dole or John McCain take the nomination, believing that this time such an individual would somehow miraculously rally and inspire those who claim no allegiance to either major political party. And central to this inane plan is the marginalization of those nauseating “social issues.”

Yet their entire effort is based on a flawed premise, and a wholly deficient picture of the character and motivation of “independent” voters. While some certainly are motivated to sit the political fence, in hopes of remaining at that safe “middle,” many others (and this is historically a much more significant number) are displaced conservatives who cannot abide the insipidness of the GOP any more than the abhorrent liberalism of the Democrats. In consideration of this, it is no surprise that Ronald Reagan, the boldest and most uncompromising conservative president of the last half-century, received far more support from “independents” than any Republican “moderate” before or since.

In response to the controversy Obama and his minions have deliberately instigated, establishment Republicans have one of two options. They can press forward into the elections, courageously and unabashedly standing on the principles of true conservatism, including the sanctity of human life, at which point the Obama camp will suffer severe political consequences as a result of its leftist extremism. Or they can once again back-peddle and cave, which will essentially put their stamp of approval on the outrages and excesses of government mandated birth control, and the attack on freedom and the American ideal that it ultimately represents.

Christopher G. Adamo is a resident of southeastern Wyoming and has been involved in state and local politics for many years. He writes for several prominent conservative websites, and has written for regional and national magazines. He is currently the Chief Editorial Writer for The Proud Americans, an advocacy group for America’s seniors, and for all Americans. His contact information and article archives can be found at www.chrisadamo.com, and he can be followed on Twitter @CGAdamo.